More local volunteers hear call
When Hurricane Rita hits land, eight area volunteers will be ready.
Equipped with food, water and medical supplies, this group from the Inland Northwest chapter of the American Red Cross will already be in San Antonio, Texas, prepared to move as close as possible to wherever disaster strikes.
“I want to help people,” said volunteer Sandy Purkey, a critical care nurse at Holy Family Hospital. “As human beings, it’s what we’re called to do.”
On Thursday, a day before the dreaded storm was expected to strike eastern Texas and western Louisiana, Purkey and seven others boarded an America West flight from the Spokane International Airport. They were scheduled to arrive in San Antonio late Thursday night.
The volunteers from Spokane, Mead and North Idaho will spend 21 days in the hardest-hit areas working in shelters. They will pass out food and water, set up cots and do whatever it takes to care for those displaced.
Since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast almost a month ago, the Inland Northwest Chapter of the Red Cross has received more than 500 volunteer applications. Those who can take time off from work for “hardship assignments” such as shelter work in the Gulf Coast area are required to undergo three eight-hour days of intensive training.
“They’re going to see some things they’ve never seen before so it’s critical that we prepare them as Red Cross workers,” said Abi Weaver, the local Red Cross’ director of public affairs.
The training includes learning how to adjust to tough physical conditions, working with diverse populations and special needs clients, and learning the logistics of how a shelter works.
So far, the local Red Cross has sent 42 people to Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and other states to support the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Thursday’s group of eight was the first to respond to Rita.
The volunteers who flew to San Antonio included five nurses, a physical therapist, a firefighter and a bartender. There are no prerequisites to becoming a volunteer, Weaver emphasized, since people learn everything they need to know during the training.
To prepare for their three weeks in Texas or wherever they end up, the volunteers packed three days worth of food, bottled water, toilet paper, sleeping bags and other necessities to ensure self-sufficiency. Red Cross trainers advised them not to expect to do any laundry or even shower during their entire stay.
“People who have come back have been emotionally drained,” said Jill Stephenson, another Holy Family critical care nurse who left Thursday for San Antonio.
She’s prepared for the physical hardship, she said, but worries about her ability to keep it together. Photographs of desperate people standing outside the New Orleans convention center still make her cry.
But it was exactly those images that compelled her to act. While watching the news with her four children, her 13-year-old said, “Mom, you’re a nurse. You’ve got to go.”
So four days after Katrina struck, she and Purkey asked hospital supervisors if they could take time off to volunteer with the Red Cross. Holy Family agreed to let them go and pay their salary for one week.
The two nurses received training about a week ago. On Tuesday, they learned about their assignment in Texas.
As they walked to their airport gate Thursday afternoon, Purkey reflected on their responsibilities and the daunting task ahead.
“My heart hurts,” she said, pondering all the pain caused by Hurricane Katrina and what could happen after Rita. “I just want to help as much as I can.”